Wireless communication networks typically track the location of mobile stations within the network on the cell level. This tracking allows the network to route incoming calls to the cell in which the mobile station is currently located. Furthermore, in order to comply with Federal Communication Commission (FCC) regulations for emergency 911 (E911) calls, many wireless communication networks can provide the latitude and longitude of a mobile station to a public safety answering point (PSAP).
The capability to determine the location of a mobile station can be exploited deliver information to mobile phone users customized to a specific user location. Information services can determine the location of specific mobile stations by sending a “ping” message to the mobile station. In response to the ping message, the mobile station may determine its location using any of a number of methods and then may report the mobile stations location in response to the ping request. For example, the mobile station may include a global positioning system (GPS) chip that receives information from a constellation of satellites and computes a triangulated position based on the satellite information. Alternatively, the mobile station may compute a triangulated position based on information received from three or more base transceiver stations (BTS) in a cellular network providing communications for the mobile station.